A Change: Book One
by Sweetly Sour Roses
Summary: Buttercup had changed ever since she and her sisters had gotten into an argument, she had changed for what she thought was better. Now she has a new boy named Brick in her class who both seem to have an interest in each other but only one seems willing to show it. What will come of fate continuously pushing them together? Love? Hatred? Or interest?
1. School Day

Buttercup sighed as she sat quietly in her AP English class, she couldn't help but think back to how much she had changed in the course of two years; it felt like it had been just a hour ago that everything had changed. She and her sisters had gotten into a fight, it wasn't a physical fight, they wouldn't be able to beat her at that since she was stronger than the two of them combined, but it was a fight that had destroyed their relationship as sisters, it was all because Buttercup was ready to move out and be on her own. She had a job, she coached people personally, people rich and poor, far and near had came to her asking assistance to get into better shape. She didn't have to do much but give them a schedule on what they had to do, when they had to do it, and how they had to do it and they were good, but she had really changed from her old sporty self into someone most people would never suspect. She was calmer, she had transformed into a more artistic person, she was softer and her temper had calmed down too.

She didn't explode at everything as badly as she did before, she read more than she use too as well, she had just...changed. Her popularity had even dropped from being at the top of the food chain to being at the bottom, not that she really minded really. It was more relaxing to her in all honesty, she didn't have multiple people fallowing her at all points in time, now she could walk in the hallway of her school without having to worry about being surrounded by multiple people who idolized her, it was a huge relief when slowly, one by one even, people began leaving her alone. Her personality wasn't the only thing that had changed though, her hair had gotten longer, toward her elbow, and she wore dresses a little more often than she used to; she had learned to get more comfortable in flats, being used to wearing some type of sports shoe at all times; her body had gotten more womanly too, which embarrassed her to a certain degree. She had lost herself in thought as she subconsciously took her notes, something her body had started doing over the time of her change.

"Just a simple review question, hopefully you all will know this from eighth grade; how many parts of speech do we have? Do you know the answer Ms. Utonium?", the teacher had drawn Buttercup out of her thoughts and Buttercup stood, "There are eight, ma'am.", she answered the way she was taught to, the teacher gave her a bright smiled, "Thank you very much, you may take a seat.", returning the smile and giving a nod Buttercup compiled with the orders given to her. She didn't have time to pick up her pencil again though, the bell had rang to signal it was time to transfer into sixth period, which for Buttercup had been Art. It was honestly one of her favorite periods of the day, "Don't forget to finish your reports on Ebola class! Put what I've taught you to use with your writing!", the teacher called as the other students raced out like chickens with their heads cut off, ' _Rushing to go talk to their friends..._ ', Buttercup let the thought float by in her mind as she gather her things into her black messenger bag before strolling out, her friends were waiting for her in her next period, fifth period was the only period she didn't have with at least one of her friends. She had met some pretty nice people when she had finally descended down the popularity chart, and she was glad she did, even if she wasn't as popular as she use to be, she had people who would actually talk to her for her, not just to get in good with the cool kids. She had a small set of close friends though, a nerd, computer geek, a pair of fraternal Otaku twins, an Emo, a joker, and a singer.

Her nerd friend was named Bethany Skies, she was cute with her being 5'5" shoulder long ginger hair that she kept in a low shoulder pony tail, her slightly rounded eyes were a beautiful shade of Irish green, and her pale white skin was spotted with cute little freckles that Buttercup wished she had; the computer geek went by the name of Brandon Keller, he was tall, as tall as 5'11" with spiky black hair, his skin was tanned, giving away his Native American genes, with almond shaped dark brown eyes. Both of the twins were 5'6", the girl being named Raven and the boy Toby, both of the twins was an African American with beautiful dark skin, Raven had beautiful light brown eyes while her brother had coal black eyes, Raven had her black neck long hair in a puffy ponytail while Toby had a buzz cut; the Emo friend Buttercup had acquired was named Storm Jenkins, he was one of the sweetest people she knew really. He was tall as well, almost 6", with neck long black dyed hair that he normally kept in a small ponytail, his skin was slightly tanned and he even had a small beauty mark underneath the right side of his lips, and his eyes were the perfect shade of brown. Harry McConnall was the 5'6" joker of the group with his unruly blonde hair and bright blue eyes, his pale white skin had a few pimples here and there, in a way he reminded Buttercup of Bubbles, but unlike her he didn't throw hiss fits about everything that didn't go his way; Rune Ballot was the singer of the group, her voice was sweeter than the song of an Angel, and it made Buttercup happy that only she and the rest of the group were able to hear it, it meant that Rune had trusted them more than anybody else. Buttercup knew that Rune had gone through hard times, with memories that could never be erased by anything or anybody.

Rune and Buttercup were closer than friends, they were like family and Rune had some of the looks to play the part with her shoulder long coal black hair with big round greyish green eyes, and her skin was pale, plus the fact that she was only 5'6". Hurrying her speed she basically ran to her sixth period class, she wanted to be with her friends, she felt safer around them than she had ever felt around her siblings. Her speed increased as she noticed the familiar objects that signaled that she was getting closer to her destination; a smile broke out onto her face as the door came closer and closer to her. She stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath, opening the door she was glad to see all her friends waiting for her at their normal seats, "Hey everyone.", she greeted as she took her seat. She had received a chorus of hello's and hey's, and two voices which had greeted her with a cheerful ohaiyo gozaimasu. "Hey, did you guys here? Apparently we'll be getting a new students in our class.", Harry bounced with anticipation.

"Yeah, I heard about it, not sure what the big deal is though.", Raven stated as she rolled her eyes, "It's like you think we'll get some big star here, like Utada Hikaru or even Asian Kun Fu Generation.", Toby added on in a board tone. "Apparently it'll be a boy named Brick Jojo", Rue spoke, her voice was quiet; she worked in the office and was normally aware of new students way before anyone else was, sometimes even before teachers. "Really? That's new, we normally only get girls, rarely a boy!.", Brandon stated in awe, "We got a few boys last month.", Rune informed him with a small laugh, "Regardless, how do you think they'll act? I hope they won't start messing with the group...", Storm stated with a deep frown; Buttercup patted his shoulder, "As if anyone's going to split us up, we're family, remember?", she reassured him with a smile. "Yeah! Family needs to stick together, right?", Bethany grinned, her Irish green eyes sparkling; "Of course! We're a big happy dumpling family!", Toby and Raven agreed in unison, taking the context from the song Dango Daikazoku. Buttercup laughed, "Of course you two.", Harry gave them a thumbs up, trying his best to look like Naruto Uzumaki.

Toby and Raven fell over laughing, and soon the door open to revel someone that no one had never seen before; the new student Brick Jojo. His skin was peach colored and seemed to be free of any marks, his slanted eyes were crimson red and seemed to be filled with emotionless temper, his long fiery orange hair went to his wait and was in a low pony tail, he also was in a brick red cap. He glared at everyone as he walked to one of the empty tables in the back to sit down at, everyone turned to look at him for a moment before looking away in fear as he glared at them. Buttercup however kept her eyes on him, his eyes burning holes into her own; there was something off about him, Buttercup could just feel it. Looking away she shrugged and instead went back to conversing with her friends.

"Buttercup, what would you stare right back at him? He looks like he could be a murderer!", Harry whispered harshly as he gave her a stern look, she just shrugged, "I just don't see what you all find so scary about a simple glare. It's not like he pulled out a gun and just started shooting us up or anything.", she spoke."Yeah, and what if you doing what you just did was the thing that set him off and he actually did have a gun?", he scolded her, she laughed. "If anything, we all know that Buttercup can hold her own in any kind of situation, even if she's in a dress.", Rune assured, "That's right, out of all of us, she's the best with hand to hand combat.", Bethany added on with a grin, everyone else frowned. "We just want you to be careful around that guy, from that look in your eyes you're going to try talking to him.", Storm pointed out and Buttercup grinned, "You all know me so well.", she stated as she laid her elbow on the table before resting her chin on her knuckle. "I don't know Buttercup, that one looks like he's nothing but trouble. He probably gets into fights all the time, who's to say that he hasn't killed somebody?", Brandon pointed out as he leaned back in his seat.

"It's not like I'm going to be welcoming him to the group or anything, think of it as...research? He could very well be like a book, and interesting book that you just can't help but study.", she compared the two like they were even in the same group. "I say do it, maybe you'll find something in common with him?", Rune offered up her opinion and Buttercup nodded at the dark grey haired female, "True, true..", she let out a breath as she stood. "Wish me luck you guys.", she waved as she walked over to where the new kid was sitting, "Hello, my name is Buttercup Utonium, it's nice to meet you.", she offered out her hand for him to shake. He turned his heated gaze to it before looking back up at her suspicion, "...Brick...", came his simple answer as he quickly shook her hand before pulling away to wipe his hand on his clothing. "Nice to meet you Brick, I'd like to say welcome to our school and feel welcomed to ask me any questions you'd like.", she added on, a small smile on her face.

"I already have a question.", he started, "When the hell are you going to be leaving me alone?". He spat angrily, she kept her smile. "When you roll over and die in a hole.", she retorted with a smile.


	2. Partners?

**I apologize in advance for the boredom you might face with this chapter, I'm working on it**

Brick couldn't believe he was being forced to go to some lame school just because Boomer was a student here and his brother Butch worked here, it was stupid. "It's almost time for sixth period, I can't believe they even let me in this late.", he sighed, an emotionless look on his face despite the anger growing inside of him. Those two idiots owed him for this, forcing him to go to this hell hole, he was the leader for pete's sake! He didn't understand why HE just had to attend this forsaken place. Sighing he walked into the art class, remembering the desk lady saying some bullshit about how he needed atleast one art class to pass and graduate; he was a pretty good artist but he didn't like being told what to draw or make, it just wasn't his style.

He walked calmly through the door, noticing a girl with the most beautiful lime green eyes he'd ever seen from the corner of his eye, he wouldn't let her get to him though. Girls were stupid, and could never do things for themselves, as he sat down he looked over to seem him looking at him, they made eye contact that seemed to last for an eternity. She gave a smile before walking over to him, he looked up at her, "Hello, my name is Buttercup Utonium, it's nice to meet you.", she offered out her hand for him to shake. He turned his heated gaze to it before looking back up at her suspicion, "...Brick...", came his simple answer as he quickly shook her hand before pulling away to wipe his hand on his clothing. "Nice to meet you Brick, I'd like to say welcome to our school and feel welcomed to ask me any questions you'd like.", she added on, a small smile on her face.

"I already have a question.", he started, "When the hell are you going to be leaving me alone?". He spat angrily, she kept her smile. "When you roll over and die in a hole.", she retorted with a smile. He was shocked at her rebuttal, wasn't she suppose to start crying or something wimpy like most girls did? He glared at her as she walked away, that same smile on her face, all her friends looked over at him and he glared much harder making them jolt and snap their heads back around.

He sighed and sat back in his chair, "Where the hell is the damn teacher...", he snarled under his breath, and as if the Lord was listening to him, a teacher walked in. "Hello class, I'm glad to have you all here today.", he spoke in a joyful way, he looked as if he could be Santa Clause in Brick's opinion. "I have a great surprise for all of you! You all will be paired into groups of two and you both will have to make a painting, or anything that your heart desires, based off two emotions. You will paint the emotion that you feel more than often, and add your own flair to it!", he laughed with jolly, ' _Definitely a Santa Clause..._ ', was all that Brick could think. "Will we be choosing our partners or will you be picking them?", a girl asked, he laughed again, "I will be giving you a challenge by picking your partners this time, I have faith that you all can do it.", he smiled at the students, taking a list out of his desk and began list people off. "And lastly Brick, you will be with Buttercup. Please go sit next to your partners everyone!", he told them, and within seconds chair were scrapping the floor as people began to move around.

Brick stayed in his seat, if Buttercup wanted to work with him she'd have to work her butt over to him; Buttercup stood and maid her way towards him, as sketchpad and her book bag in hand, he wondered what she'd pick for her part of the project. She sat next to him and placed her elbow on the table as she rested her cheek on her knuckles as she looked over in direction, "Alright, are you going to be Mr. Grumpy all day or are you actually going to help me with this project?", she questioned the red haired leader, he glared, "Whatever, just tell me what you want to do. I don't care either way.", her told her in a snobby manner, he could do anything as long as he had the freedom to choose what he wanted to make. She snorted, "If you say so, Brick.", she addressed him, "Anyway, I was thinking that maybe to make it easier and give us more freedom, let's do a painting. It'll be the best bet for us.", she explained as she opened up her sketch book, he was surprised at the myriad of drawings she had in her book, they were actually pretty breathtaking. He was in awe until she came to a blank page, she looked over at him, "So, what ideas do you have in mind, since this is going to be a project with two different people. What emotion do you plan on doing?", she questioned, he had to think about it for a bit before he turned his eyes to her, "I want to do anger.", he told her. She nodded, "Alright, anger it is. I plan on doing depression.", she told him, ' _Depression? What the hell is that supposed to mean?'_ , he thought as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'll explain everything later, it's not like I plan to get into a full on story in the middle of class.", she told him as she turned from him and began writing and sketching down ideas that they could do for the project. She preferred to plan instead of jumping head first into her projects, now if this was just to relax she'd have her ideas and everything already planned out, but there also came the factor that she had to work with another person, that was a set back. She couldn't help but think about it, how was she going to talk about it with him outside of school? She sighed, she knew this was going to be hard but she never expected this to hold her back from getting her work done. "So what do you plan for this painting? It's most likely going to be shown in a way that one side will be mine, and one side to be your.", her eyes never left the paper as she continued to work, he nodded, "Seems fair...", he mumbled with boredom in his voice.

He was interested to see what she would make with her side of the canvas, it would be nothing short of amazing if she would work in the similar fashion of her sketch pad, and he'd be proud to show off his own skills. "So how are we going to keep in contact? You got a phone or something?", he asked her, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head, she nodded, "Yeah, I got a phone.", she put down her pencil for the first time since she opened her book, she took her phone out of his pocked and unlocked it before handing to to him, "Just put your information in.", she told him as she went back to work. He was quick in putting it in and handing her phone back, girl cooties were not his thing by any circumstances; "Now that we have that settled, you go get the canvas from Mr. Klain, I got the painting supply at my house, that's if you're willing to get started as soon as possible.", she told him, looking at him from the side of her eye. He rolled his eyes, muttering curses underneath his breath as he stood from his seat to get the much needed canvas from the Santa clone, it was almost walking into Christmas Town just walking up to the man, "Here you are my boy!", he grinned as he handed Brick the much needed painting surface. He nodded and walked away to sit back in his chair, "Just like fucking Santa Clause...", he muttered under his breath.


	3. True Emotions Come Out

As soon as Brick sat down, Buttercup closed her sketch book and turned to him, "Give me your hand." she demanded of him. He glared at her, "What for?", he questioned, "So I can give you my number stupid. We obviously aren't going to finish within a class period, and it isn't something we can do just at school. We're going to have to either meet up at my apartment, or wherever the hell you live.", she snapped at him, did he think she was giving him her number because she liked him or something like that? Not on his fucking lifetime, that was one she could assure him. He sighed and pulled out his phone, unlocking it he handed it over, "Just put it in here.", he ordered, she glared at him angrily, "Don't order me around, carrot top.", she snatched the phone of of his hand and punched in the numbers, added her name, e-mail, and her address before handing it back over to him before taking out her own phone, "Hurry up, the bell's about to ring.", she hissed at him, he sighed and entered his information. Once she got her phone back, the green PowerPuff stood from her seat, took her stuff and walked towards the door just as the bell rang, he was in awe of her, why wasn't she scared of him? Why didn't she bow down to him like stupid, wimpy girls should?

It confused and angered him, he would be damned if he was going to let some girl out do him as if he was nothing, he was going to show her that he wasn't someone to be taken lightly! He stood and put his phone in his pocket, he would have to wipe it off once he got home, he didn't need her cooties all over his stuff. Walking off he made his way to his next class, AP Human Geography, he had hated the class back at his old school, he was surprised that they had this at this school too, it was like they wanted him to suffer while he was here, it was so stupid. With a sigh he sat down, and throughout the whole class period he did what he did best, looked over the information and remembered everything that he found would be necessary, something that he had taught himself how to do. He never found the need for a backpack because of this, much to his teacher's disdain, but he made sure that he did have pencils and pens in his pockets, all they really needed to give him would be a piece of paper when they needed to take a test or write a response to a question, and if they didn't have paper, the other students did.

It wasn't like he didn't have manners, he did say thanks whenever they gave him something, even if it was a stupid girl, he wasn't THAT rude atleast. Once class was over he made his way out of the classroom, he wanted to go home as soon as he could, away from this stupid school and the idiots who attended it. He was glad that he lived alone too, he got tired of his brothers and decided to move out. It wasn't like he had been fighting with them like cat and dog, but they could handle themselves without him, they were his brothers after all. They came to visit sometimes, mainly Butch, since he was technically the only one of them that could cook, Boomer could make something but he needed a lot of work before he could be considered decent.

It almost made him laugh at how much he loved having his brothers over, he had moved out to be by himself and yet he always let them over, hell, they even had their own keys to his apartment, it was ironic. He smirked as he walked, his hands in his pockets, it seemed that he wasn't the only one giddy to get him home, he noticed Buttercup hurrying through the halls, she had things she needed to do once she got home, including getting started on her laundry, homework, and making dinner. She needed to get her paints ready for when she had finally started the project, she decided to just wait until he called or text to make the decision when he was ready to work. It wasn't like she was raring to go and get it over with, but she wasn't going to be putting aside her work to make time for him and the project, and if he decided that he wasn't going to do anything for the project, she would do everything, put her name on it, and turn it in while telling the teacher that she did all the work. Brick caught up to her as soon as they exited the school, "So, loser, when are we going to start the project?", he questioned coolly, or what he thought was cool, she rolled her lime green eyes, "Whenever I guess, when are you free? I'll see if it correlates with when I'm off.", she told him.

He shrugged, "How about we get this shitty ass project over and done with? We can start tomorrow, I'll be coming over.", he told her, she nodded. Trying to be a good host, she asked him something that was simply what every good host should ask, "Chances are you're going to be over for a while, and since it'll be Saturday and normally that's the day I don't do much, what do you like to eat and drink?", came her simple question as they walked. He looked over with squinted, suspicious eyes, "What are you going to do? Poison me or something?", he questioned, she snorted, "I wouldn't ruin food like that, not to mention it would probably stink up my kitchen.", she informed him. He sighed, "...I like sweet things...and ice cold barley tea...", he felt almost embarrassed of it, it wasn't girly to like sweet things, even Butch liked them, but regardless it still felt weird to tell people how he liked sweet things. She nodded, "That won't be hard, I can make that. I half expected you to say something like chips or that you don't know.",she shrugged, he glared at her, "Well I didn't, so what?", he snarled angrily.

She laughed, "Nothing, nothing.", she smirked as she walked on, he glared at her again, what did she think was so funny about him liking sweets. "Whatever, stupid...", he muttered sourly as he walked, it seemed like they were walking in the same direction, they didn't live in the same apartment complex, that much he remembered from looking at her information in the phone, she lived about six blocks down from him in another one, it was almost uncanny, to put it simply atleast. "Later.", she gave him a wave before walking away towards her apartment complex, there was something off about Buttercup. Brick didn't know what it was but it surly wasn't something that one would be able to pin point what it was, maybe it had to do with the fact that she wanted to do depression for her half of the project. He shrugged, it wasn't like it was his business anyway, and he honestly didn't give a damn.

As buttercup walked she felt the pain of her depression hit her again, it always did so after school, she guessed it was taking a toll on her body. Rune was the only one who knew what was going on with her, she didn't dare tell the others. If they knew, she knew that they would make a huge fuss over it, it wasn't like she didn't want to be honest with them, but it was bad enough that she couldn't really explain anything to them without breaking down, and it was even easier for her to have a panic attack. She remembered how she didn't really understand how people who went through depression and panic attacks felt, but now, she really understood their pain, and she saw the pains of others. She hated how people dismissed it, and passed it off as a joke, it pissed her off, but what could she do about it?

How would someone who never went through the pain of others understand what they were going through, and the thing was, many couldn't. Buttercup had met many people who thought that it could be simply fixed with medication, but in reality, it couldn't. She wasn't sick, she didn't have a disease, and she hated how the world treated her as such. She sighed, she felt like just going home and going to bed, she could do her homework and laundry on Sunday, besides, she could really use the nap. It really haunted her, the fact that she was depressed and really had no one to talk to, but it worried her how well she was able to keep a smiling face when she felt like she was going to pass out.

She really hoped that she'd be able to get better before the next morning, she didn't want carrot head to come over and see her in such a weak state, she wouldn't be able to live with it. With a sigh she made it up the stairs to her apartment and opened the door, the sweet smell of vanilla and lavender invaded her nose, most would find the smell overwhelming, but she on the other hand found it relaxing. Placing her bags onto the couch she went back into her room and changed into her night clothing she laid down on her bed, she wanted to cry, but she had wasted enough tears this week. It was stupid of her to think that it would be a good idea to start the project on the day when she normally just sat at home and cried. She really hoped that nothing would go wrong, she just wanted to get it all over with.


	4. Any Ideas, Carrot Head?

Buttercup laid in her bathtub sobbing her eyes out, she didn't know how to feel at the moment, her depression was getting the best of her and, even though she wanted to, she couldn't stop her heart wrenching sobs. The water in the tub had no longer been hot like when she first poured her bath, now it was cold, cold enough to give her hypothermia. She felt so stupid, there she was crying in the bathtub, she had to look decent tomorrow, and she was more than sure that red puffy eyes wouldn't be the way to do it, plus she had to get the things together to make the snacks. She was sure that tears and apples didn't mix well, she couldn't have Brick making fun of her because of it, and she definitely couldn't start crying when he was over, the green puff was sure that he would never let her live it down. Sighing, she stood and got out of the tub before drying herself off, she just wanted to do her homework and go to sleep, she could think about tomorrow when it came.

She quickly dressed in a white tank top and grey sweat pants, she left her hair down, she didn't feel like brushing it out, she could do that later. "I sure seem to like doing things later today...", she scolded herself, but in the same token, she couldn't blame herself. Whenever her depression had hit her hard, she couldn't really do anything, sleep seemed to be the best option for her, it was a three day weekend anyway, so it really didn't matter at all if she waited a bit to do it or not, she normally just liked getting things out of the way so she could have more time to relax. She had honestly planned on baking a lot this weekend anyway, Brick wanting pie was just going to be added to it all. With a sigh she walked back to her bedroom and closed the door, "A good night's sleep should do me some good...", she murmured to herself as she turned out the lights.

Morning time had come much sooner than she had wanted it to, and it kind of pissed her off, "Morning sun will always rise, it's cruel but it is fair...", she sung quietly to herself. She had heard the song once on YouTube, it had been called Hello How Are You and a person named Joy Dreamer was the one who sang it, and in a way Buttercup had liked the song so much that she used it to get herself up, now being one of those times. She gave a sigh and stood from the bed, stretching to get her limbs to wake up too; walking into the bathroom she began her morning routine of brushing her hair out and throwing it into a high ponytail, she brushed her teeth, and she washed her face. She dressed herself in a pair of black cargo shorts with a white tank top, she wasn't going to dress to impress, that was never her style to begin with. With that she set to work, the pie wasn't going to bake itself and the tea surely enough wasn't going to brew itself, although she couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of wanting them to do so.

The process had lulled her into a relaxed state, she use to do all these things with Bubbles when they lived together, but now, she rarely even saw the blonde haired girl, although Toby and Raven told her that they normally caught the blue eyed puff staring at Buttercup with sadness in her eyes. Sometimes Buttercup was tempted to call her, but if Blossom picked up the phone, it would be a whole different ball game, the green puff was sure that the red haired leader hated her, not that she really minded though. She felt proud of herself once the pie was cooling and the tea was in the fridge, now all she had to do was get the things she felt she would need but there was a knock at the door. "It's not even noon...", she murmured to herself as she answered the door and there he stood dressed in a pair of black pants, a red shirt covered with a black jacket, and some black and white sneakers, he also had a bag over his shoulder, which she assumed was filled with his supply, and the canvas was underneath his arm. "You're here early...", she told him as she moved aside to allow him entrance into her home. He nodded, "The sooner we get this over with the better, right?', he sighed as he walked inside, she closed the door, "You can take your shoes off and leave them at the door.", she told him as she turned around and walked into the kitchen before returning with a slice of the pie and a cup of the tea, "I still have to gather my things, so try it and tell me what you think, I guess.", she shrugged as she walked back to her room.

Brick sat at the table and looked at the food in front of him, he didn't really expect her to bake him a pie or anything, he was actually quite surprised to say the least. "I guess there's no harm in trying some...", he sighed as he took a bite, despite the nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that maybe she had put something in it, but he hadn't really eaten anything else that morning so he was actually starving. He blinked in surprise, it was a lot better than he thought it would be. It didn't take him long to finish the pie and to gulp down his drink, in all honesty, he wanted another piece, "Hey, by the way, go get another piece if you want one, the tea's in the fridge too.", the green puff stated as she finally came out with the stuff, he had already placed the canvas on the couch anyway. He nodded at her and stood with his plate and glass in hand, "It's almost like she can read minds...", her murmured, but then again, it was normal to offer more to a guest, wasn't it?

He felt stupid to think such a thing, he needed to make use of his common sense! As he sat back down with his food and drink, he watched her sit across from him, as she had finished setting up her things, "So how do you think we should do this? Pretty sure we can waste today just eating pie and drinking tea, but regardless, it would be a good idea to get a basic idea on what we want to do.", she explained, he nodded, he wouldn't mind just eating th pie but he assumed that Buttercup wouldn't let him. "Well, we already know I'm doing anger, and we already know that you're doing depression, I guess the only thing we really need to do is decide how we plan to put it all together.", he stated with his elbow on the table as he placed his cheek on it, he placed another spoonful of pie in his mouth. She nodded, "Yeah, but that's the thing. Although the painting part will be a breeze, it's how we plan to put it together. I'm sure we both have a different way of painting and doing things...", she sighed as she sat back in her chair, it wasn't going to be easy for them to get it done right off the bat, neither even knew much of the others artistic ability and their style of drawing. She guessed that's what made in unique but in the same token, it's what made it extremely difficult.

"How about we pitch some ideas until we find something that we both can agree on?", came Brick's reply, she nodded, "I never knew you could come up with good ideas.", Buttercup teased him, he rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, wimpy.", he insulted her back with a smirk, she grinned at him. "How about we do it by making one half mine, and the other half yours. We can paint ourselves with our backs against each other.", Buttercup offered, Brick shook his head, "Nah, that's too boring.", he started, "Why not it be both of in the ocean reaching for each other with quotes around it like 'you make me so angry!' and 'Why am I so alone...?' at the bottom in white cursive writing?", he asked, she thought about it, "Although that sounds like a good idea, it doesn't sound like my cup of tea...maybe if we add something?", she suggested. "How about we combine our ideas but add something to it?", he stated, "I'm listening...", Buttercup rested her chin in the palm of her hand as her elbow rested on the table. "What if on one side of the paper we do it like I mentioned before, but the other half we cut into two and in one picture I paint my face full of worry and anger while yours can be filled with depression and fear?", he stated as he finished off the last of his pie and sipped on his tea, Buttercup blinked in surprise, that actually sounded like a great idea! "That's it! That's what we should do!" she bolted up, an excited look on her face, "That's the greatest idea that I've ever heard! Combining the two of them into one!", she yelled happily, uncaring if she had disturbed her neighbors or not.

He was taken aback by her sudden boost of energy, but then gave a small smile, "I know, I'm a genius.", he stated boastfully. She rolled her eyes, "Whatever carrot head, it's time to get to work! Let's paint the first half together, that way no one has done more or less work than the other."


	5. First Day Isn't Always Best

Buttercup and Brick had been working almost all day, the water was a lot harder for them to paint than they had expected, mainly since they couldn't decide if they wanted the water to be a dark blue or a light blue, "I'd like to see the water fading from aquamarine at the tape to a dark blue at the bottom.", Buttercup suggested, "How would we even get the paint to mix with each other to do that?", he questioned her, she grinned. "I've done it before on a science project, I was testing it to see if it would work or not, all I have to do, really, is use watercolor paint to get it to mix well.", she had did it to make Neptune more alluring since she was supposed to pick her favorite planet and paint it while having twenty facts about it. He looked surprised, how come he didn't think of that? "Then get to work then, Butterbutt.", he grinned, she rolled her eyes at him before Brick turned to sit on the couch to watch her work, he admired her a bit, she was a decent painter, ' _For a girl, that is._ ', he added on. He guessed that he could say that she was cute but in the same token, he didn't feel that was okay, he was a RowdyRuff Boy for crying out loud, the leader to top it off!

She was curvy that was for sure, she had nice hips and her chest? He could only assume that it was a triple D, give or take, but when she moved he admired how they bounced a little when she moved a certain way, he loved women with big breast, but more often than not he was only after them for their chest. He fucked their brains out then leave, not that they really cared, they both just wanted someone to go to bed with them, they got it, now harm no foul. He highly doubted that he could do that with Buttercup, she didn't look like one to just open her legs for just anyone, let alone him, but he knew that they would only talk to each other until the project was over, other than that there would be no reason for them to keep in touch, atleast not that he could think of. Other than her body, he admired her gift in art, it was beautiful and all she was painting was the ocean, but her look of concentration was something that he had only ever seen with Butch when he was cooking or baking, but Butch was always the serious one of the three, looking out the window he blinked in surprise at how late it was, had he really been at her house that long?

His stomach growled, making him blink in surprise while Buttercup laughed, "I guess you'll be staying for dinner, right?", she questioned, he shrugged, "Not like I got anything better to do.", he sighed, she grinned, "Right, right. Big tough guys never have anything to.", she laughed putting down her paint brush, "I'll just go make something, I've already finished the rest of the fading for the ocean, do whatever it is bad boys do.", she waved him off as she spoke, but before she walked off she turned to him, "Oh, and make sure you call whoever is at your house that you'll be eating over here.", she told him before walking into the kitchen. Brick sighed, there wasn't anyone at his house that he could tell where he was, he didn't live with his brothers anymore, and they hardly had time to visit him so what would be the point? Yeah they all went to the same school, but that was because they forced him to go, saying something stupid about how even if they didn't live together that they still needed to stay together, "Stupid idiots...", he mumbled to himself. He looked around the living room, he was surprised at how homey it felt, it wasn't all girly and pink as most girls whose homes he went to but Buttercup? She made hers more mellow with light green walls, a black carpet, a white sofa in which he sat on, a dark brown coffee table, and a white chair.

The light on the ceiling wasn't of much concern to him, but it did add a nice light to everything, "Hey, do you want me to make some dessert or are you okay without it?", he snapped his head over to the lime green eyed girl, he shrugged, "A dessert's cool with me, I don't really care.", she laughed. "Sure, tough guy, I got you.", she grinned before going back in the kitchen. She felt proud of the dish she was making, it was one of Bubbles favorites; Curried Chicken Soup with with Curried Fried Rice With Pineapple and Spicy Pepper Slaw for the sides, for the drinks she made Watermelon Spritzer, and for the dessert she made Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls, "I made so much...", she muttered once she was done, she guessed thinking of Bubbles made her make this much. It made her stomach hurt, she missed Bubbles so much, they were so close but after that fight they couldn't even get near each other because Blossom had taken it upon herself to make sure that Bubbles and Buttercup had no communications once so ever. With a sigh she put on a fake smile and began to set the table, "Hey tough guy, foods ready!", Buttercup called, he stood, "About time, you stupid wimpy girls take forever.", he huffed she crossed her arms and rose a brow, clearly unamused, "Oh? How about I just give you some raw chicken and be done with it?", he blinked in surprise before looking away, not knowing exactly how to respond, "Thought so, now dig in.", she rolled her eyes at him before sitting down and began to eat.

Dinner was quiet between the two of them, each of them had their minds preoccupied with two different things, Buttercup with Bubbles, and Brick with his brothers. "Hey, Buttercup?", Brick snapped her out of her thought as she looked up at him frozen in her position, she was tucking some hair behind her ear as her face was bent down to blow on the hot soup that occupied her spoon, "Do you think that maybe I could stay over here until morning time?", he questioned, she blinked in surprise, "But of you stay the night why leave in the first place? You're going to have to come back later anyway, right?", she questioned in confusion as she sat up. "I just don't feel like going home, okay?", he snapped before sighing, "You know what? Just forget it.", he was about to stand up when Buttercup stopped him, "Just tell me why you want to stay, I honestly don't mind it, I just want to know why.", he looked down at his bowl and his plate and just sighed again. "...Is it because you don't want to go home to whoever's there?", she questioned him, "Nobody is home...I live alone...", he muttered, but it was loud enough for her to hear him, she guess she kind of understood but she didn't feel like pressing the subject. "Just finish eating and I'll get you your blanket and pillow so you can sleep on the couch. You can go home in the morning to take a shower.", was all she said as she continued eating, "That's it? You're not going to ask why or anything like that?", he questioned in confusion, most girl wouldn't even let the subject drop until he had told them everything, one thing that he most certainly hated about girls but...why was Buttercup so different?

"When you feel ready to talk about it, you will, and if you don't want to talk about it, you won't. I'm not one to pry open wounds.", was her only reply, he was in shock once more, why was she so different? Why wasn't she acting like most of the other stupid girls that he had come in contact with that would pry and pry until finally he would snap on them, why was Buttercup not treating him as if he was some sort of experiment meant to be examined and questioned? He didn't understand it! "How about since this project is suppose to be for as long as a month, why not come over for lunch and dinner then? Maybe even after the project is over?", she questioned, he gave a stiff nod, "I don't care...", came his reply, but Buttercup could see through it, "Then it's settled then.", she nodded, taking a drink.


	6. Stop It!

Over the few weeks Buttercup and Brick had gotten used to their arrangements, by no means did they get along all buddy buddy like, but they didn't fight often but it was still hard on Buttercup to have him around. When she had a breakdown she had to keep it quiet, she couldn't be too loud or else Brick would hear her, she was sure that he would end up laughing at her for it because honestly, he always talked about how wimpy and weak girls were, she didn't need him on her case. Whenever they were at school they walked and talked together to some of the classes that they had together, and other people had noticed how rude and nasty he was to almost everyone but he seemed so toned down with Buttercup, and tiny actions like that can light the fire of many rumors. Many rumors centered around Brick and Buttercup having sex or that they were dating, some said it was Buttercup beat the ever living shit out of him, some even came to say that maybe she was pregnant with his baby, but she never said anything about the rumors unless asked. Brick on the other hand exploded about how stupid people were, always saying that if he wanted a girl it sure enough wouldn't be Buttercup.

"Are you sure you're not dating Brick?", a girl asked Buttercup, who sighed, "For the last time, yes, I'm sure I'm not dating Brick. If you ask me again I will not hesitate to punch you.", she snapped, she had answered the same question twenty times, and counting, from the same girl and it was honestly starting to piss the green puff, the girl huffed in anger and walked off, even though Buttercup knew that she would have to deal with more girls like that one she couldn't just keep getting angry with each and every one of them, but she couldn't take it anymore. She had been coming down with slight cold, and all the stress she was getting from school and it was no help that her friends were so busy with their projects and trying to defend Buttercup that they didn't always have the time to talk to her and hang out like they use too, it didn't help that she and Brick had recently gotten into a fight over something small, she couldn't even remember what it was they were fighting about. It was all so bothersome, and the worst thing about it was the fact that Blossom decided now would be any better time than ever to start hitting on Brick but the look of disgust that came over his face was priceless but Buttercup paid it all no mind, she knew what the pink puff was trying to do. "Hey, you! Girl with the green back pack!", Buttercup turned around to notice two boys running her way, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, she really hoped that they weren't who she thought they were.

Brick had explained to her that he had two brothers, one older and one younger, "What is it?", she sighed, she knew that she could hope all she wanted, it wasn't going to change the fact that they were indeed his brothers, at least by the looks of it. She recognized them by their eye color, really; Butch had slanted forest green eyes, his black hair was in a short samurai pony tail with some of it covering his right eye completely, and his skin was a milky white color. Boomer on the other hand had big round dark blue eyes with spiky blonde hair in a wing like style, and his skin was peach colored with a few freckles under each of his eyes. "What's up with you and our bro?", Boomer asked, a suspicious look on his face as he placed his arms behind his head, "Besides our art project? Not a thing.", she answered, "Are you sure about that?", Butch crossed his arms and rose a brow at her, "I don't have any reasons to lie.", she replied simply. She wasn't affected much by their questions, she knew the truth, so there was no reason for her to lie about it or feel awkward about it.

"You know, Brick told us something different.", Butch stated, "And that would be?", they had her attention now, "What the hell has this idiot been saying?", she questioned them with venom dripping from her words, both boys jumped at her sudden change of mood. "Are you going to answer the question or do I have to go find Brick and beat it out of him?", she snapped, she hoped that he wasn't saying anything that he shouldn't have been, she'd beat him down into the ground if he was. "Alright, alright, geez!", Boomer sighed, "He just told us about how he had been staying over at your house more often... So we just assumed that, you know...considering what Brick's like around bust girls...", Boomer tried to explain it without saying it in a way that would get him punched, Butch sighed at pinched the bridge of his nose. "What Boomer is trying to say, normally when Brick stays over at a girls house, mainly girls like you with larger than average assets, it typically means he's over there for more than just an art project.", he butted in, explaining it just a tad bit better than his younger brother, Buttercup was the one to pinch the bridge of her nose this time, how could people be so stupid? "Look, he stays over at night after we finish a little more of the project, and yeah I feed him, but I'm not a whore. I don't see Brick at all in the way that you think I do. Brick is only my art project, nothing more nothing less, and that's how it's always going to be.", she explained, Brick could be nice if he wanted to be, but most times...he didn't want to be.

She didn't understand why people were making such a big deal out of nothing, they weren't sleeping together, they weren't seeing each other; there was nothing between them at all. "What are you all doing?", all three turned to see Brick looking at them with a confused face, "They wanted to ask me about those stupid rumors going around.", she sighed, waving him off, "Oh, and you can't come over tonight, I'm going to finish the last bit of what I have to do and then I'll give the canvas to you so you can finish your half. I want this over as soon as possible.", she sighed as she walked past him, but Brick had turned around and grabbed her by her arm, "Hey, wait. I need to talk with you about something.", his face was serious, she rolled her lime green eyes, not taking it as seriously as she felt that she should. "Why can't you just text it to me, you have my number, don't you?", she questioned him with a raised brow, she wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that he had broken his phone and needed a new one, but the glare he gave her shocked her. "Why do I have to text you about it if you're right here?", he questioned angrily, "Why does it matter enough that you couldn't text me?", she resorted, glaring, "This is exactly why people won't leave me alone! Before I got paired up with you I was happy with my friends, now everything has gone to shit and almost everyone in this school won't leave me alone because you won't leave me alone!", she shouted at him, angry that he was yelling at her as if she had done something wrong. He glared back, "Well sorry, didn't know being around the person this shitty school is forcing me to work with someone like you!", he snarled, Buttercup snatched her arm from him, "The sooner this is over, the better.", she spat before storming off, it was the end of the day, so she stormed off school grounds and towards her home.

All the kids stayed out of her way, scared that if they even breathed the wrong way that they would be the one to unleash her wrath. When she had gotten home she had slammed the door shut, she wasn't in the mood to even deal with any of this anymore, she was half tempted to just tell him off again but she just couldn't deal with him anymore, atleast not for the rest of the week but she knew that she would have to, this week was the last week for the project and would be due on the Monday after, so sighing she began to work on the last bit that she had to, she couldn't just leave her work unfinished just because of someone else, but she wasn't kidding when she said that he wasn't allowed to come over that day, she wanted a day to herself where she could be by herself and cry, she hadn't had that for a while and everything was honestly it was something that she really needed. It wouldn't take her long to draw and paint herself onto the board, and to the words surrounding her, that wouldn't be hard either, so she decided that it would be best to get them done. Just as she had finished painting her body and hair there was a knock at the door, she sighed as she placed her paintbrush down and walked over to the door, but who she opened the door to was the last person she'd expect to show up there.


	7. I Wasn't Expecting You

Buttercup was shocked to say the least to find the very person standing in front of her actually there on her doorstep; her blond hair fell to her hips in loose curls white her round baby blue eyes looked around nervously and unsure, her skin was as fair and clear as it had always been but this time it was stained with tears that had dried not to long ago from what Buttercup could tell, but none the less, Bubbles still seemed to look like her old self. "Bubbles? What are you doing here?", she asked in confusion, this would be the first time in about a year that she had seen her sister, with such a sad face and on her doorstep too. Without even giving the girl a chance to answer Buttercup pulled her inside of the house and let her sit on the couch, "I'll go get you some tea, lemon tea with three teaspoons of sugar, right?", Buttercup asked, still remembering what her little sister would ask for when she was upset when they lived with one another, the blonde haired girl gave a slight nod and that was all it really took before the green Puff had rush off into the kitchen to prepare the tea. Luckily for her, tea only took a few seconds to prepare and soon she was out with a mug of tea for her little sister, "Never mind why you're here, are you okay? You look like you've been crying..", she was worried for Bubbles, had a boy broken her heart or something? The thought made her blood boil, although she didn't have much of a temper like she had when she was younger, she couldn't say that her temper wouldn't flare when it came to Bubbles.

Bubbles shook her head, "I just really missed you, and I heard all those awful rumors about you and I got so worried...I couldn't just stay away like Blossom had told me, I really needed to see you!", she said softly, looking down at the mug in her hand as more tears seemed to fall down her face. Buttercup blinked in surprise before giving a warm smile, and here today she thought she was just going to cry to get her emotions out; "You don't have to worry about any of those rumors, Brick and I are only partners for an art project, and sometimes he even stays over to eat or to sleep so that we can finish up faster, but other than that, there isn't anything else going on.", Buttercup reassured her, the blonde haired girl nodded and gave a small smile as she wiped her tears away as she squatted in front of the blonde haired puff. "I'm so glad…", she muttered as she brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip, flinching back and pouting when she had burnt her tongue a little. "Blow before you drink…", Buttercup scolded softly, giving her little sister a pat on the head, who in return smiled and gave a small laugh. "Does Blossom know you're here? I'd hate to get you in trouble.", Buttercup stated as she took a seat next to Bubbles, running her fingers through her hair before throwing it back over her shoulder, Bubbles shrugged.

"I don't know...I just left school to find you, I had heard that you and Brick had gotten into a screaming contest of some sort, and you had stormed home. Blossom probably knows I'm with you, but I never told her where you lived, so there's no way for her to actually get here.", the blue puff assured her, Buttercup nodded, "As if she'd actually come here, most likely, she'd just use it to try and make my life harder.", she sighed with a shrug as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them, her hair falling in strands around her. Even to Bubbles, it was clear to see how much Buttercup had changed, and Bubbles found her to be even more beautiful than before. "So...tell me, is Brick coming over tonight?", she asked, the green puff shook her head, "No. Well...at least he _shouldn't_ since I told him not to.", Buttercup gave a tiny laugh, "He hardly ever listens, so I doubt he won't come, but at the same time I doubt he will.", it was hard to explain, unless someone knew Brick's habits like she did, since he was basically like an open book, you couldn't be sure of anything. When Brick ate, she had noticed the little things about him, when he had been calm she had noticed the little things about him, when he was angry she had noticed the little things about him, she had noticed many things about him that she doubted he even knew about.

Despite not being all buddy buddy with him, she always saw these traits as parts of an artwork, for someone as rough around the edges like him, he was almost like a work of art. She could never determine if he was finished or unfinished, but none the less he was a artwork that wouldn't be appreciated in his time. Bubbles nodded, "I kind of understand, I think…", she mumbled softly, since they were children Bubbles and Buttercup had always had a better relationship with each other than either had with Blossom, even if back then they still had a bond with her. It was the tiniest things that they both could use to talk to one another, and even if Buttercup didn't have the words for things, she knew that Bubbles understood what she was saying anyway. "I don't even like Brick, but you know...he's kind of like an artwork to me, there are many different sides to him, and I can't understand them all, and I guess there's a beauty to it, but sometimes you just want to crack open the secrets, you know? It's a shame that after this project is done,", she gestured to the unfinished canvas, " I won't get to think about these things anymore, and I highly doubt that he'll even care enough to even say hi.", she gave a tiny chuckle as she leaned her head back and let her eyes wander to meet Bubbles blue orbs, the blonde girl nodded again.

"You know, it doesn't have to be that way.", Bubbles pointed out, "It takes two to have a conversation, so if he won't start one, why don't you?", she asked, Buttercup blinked in surprise before giving a warm smile. "You know, the superstition that blondes are dumb clearly never met you, you've got to be one sharp needle in the haystack, Bubbles.", Buttercup grinned as she gave her little sister a pat once more. Before anything else could be said there was loud knocking on the door, "Let me in, Buttercup!", it was Brick, and he sounded furious at the moment, it had, after all, only been an hour since their little screaming fit, "Guess you were right!", Bubbles laughed, "Sadly.", came her reply as she stood and walked over to the door. Taking a deep breath she opened the door, and she was less than surprised to come face to face with a pair of angry red eyes, "What the hell was earlier about?! What do you have to do that's so important that you wouldn't even let me talk to you during school?!", he hissed at her, she blinked in surprise, she had never seen Brick this angry before. "Look, I understand that you're mad, but if you were to ask for time alone I would give it to you, why can't you do the same?", she asked him calmly, a screaming match was something that she would like to avoid, especially since her sister was on the couch not too far from her.

"Because at least I would have given you a reason!", he shouted back at her, his arms were crossed, and if looks could kill Buttercup had a feeling that she would be splattered all over the walls."Look, I'll text you about it later, I don't want to argue with you.", she sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "No, we're going to talk now! Move!", he hissed out as he pushed her out of the way and stormed into the room, he looked over at Bubbles and then turned his attention back to the person he was angry with, Buttercup. Bubbles was the least of his concerns, this whole thing had nothing to do with her, therefore he was going to keep it that way. "You know, as much as I'd like to stay, I realize that you both have a lot of explaining to do to one another. Please remember that shouting over each other isn't the way to solve resolve.", she gave them both a kind smile before standing and placed her now empty mug on the table before hugging her sister, "I'll talk to you later, okay?", she told the green puff before closing the door behind her. Buttercup sighed and sat down on the couch, "You're so annoying, you know that?", she asked him, her voice was soft but she felt herself getting closer and closer to breaking down, she so badly needed to cry, but she couldn't do so with Brick here, it made her wonder if it would even matter if she had told him why she wanted to be alone, she'd have to face his snickers and his teasing about it at some point, right?

He rolled his eyes, "Tell me why you want to be alone.", he demanded her, if she didn't know any better she would be assuming that he was the professor and she had gotten in trouble at school for getting in a fight, but sadly, those happy days were long since gone. "Why does it matter to you?", she asked him, it couldn't be because he cared, and she knew it wasn't because he liked her or anything, but it seemed like he was pushing so hard to get an answer from her, almost as if he _needed_ to know why she wouldn't let him over earlier. "Because I don't like being told what to do without them having a good ass reason as to why I shouldn't or should do things.", he snarled. She sighed, she couldn't believe that she was actually going to tell him, "Fine, you want to know so badly? It's because I have depression, as to keep from losing my shit I like to cry for hours on end by myself, and with you coming over all the time I didn't have the chance to do it like I normally do and so I started getting closer and closer to having a emotional breakdown. There! Are you fucking satisfied now?!", she shouted at him angrily, it was taking all of her effort to not break down right there in front of him, she could already feel the tears making their way towards her eyes. Now it was Brick's turn to be shocked, the anger was gone and he found himself lost for words, just how could he respond to that? Then it hit him, how could he have not noticed before?

She said she was doing depression for the project, and for the whole time they had been working together he never once thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something wrong. He had known something was off about her, he had noticed a few things, but he hadn't cared about her then, and now he realized that, just as much as he hated to admit it, he had found a small piece of her in his heart. It wasn't love or anything, but he cared for her, even if he only cared a little bit about her. Buttercup, fed up with his silent gawking fell back on the couch, brought her knees up to her chest before letting her head drop down, she couldn't take it anymore! She began to sob into her arms, leaving Brick in a tight spot as he didn't know what to do so he sat down next to her.

With a little hesitation he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him so that her head was on his shoulder as she cried, she looked up at him with blurry, tear filled eyes, confused on what he was doing, and Brick only looked away, scratching his cheek, "Just get it over with…", he mumbled as he placed her head back on his shoulder. Feeling no need to keep hiding and to keep pretending to be strong, she buried her face in his shirt and let everything come out. All Brick could do was hold her as she cried.


End file.
